urban homesteader – Homesteads and Homeschools

This week the Liberty Hippie had the pleasure of speak with Lloyd Cowan of Madison, ME. Lloyd is your typical urban homesteading type who spent some years out west before coming back to Maine and using his urban lot to grow vegetables, house show chickens, layer hens, and keep a handful of goats for dairy and soap. The show opened with Lloyd giving a little run down of his history and how he came to be an urban homesteader, but it’s the happenings of his town that drew the interest of the Liberty Hippie. In June 2018, the town board held a meeting and took a vote by a show of hands on a ordinance that would effect everyone in town with a lot smaller than 1.5 acres. The ordinance was not advertised as anything to do with farming, or produce, but was tacked on under a property ordinance and looked to have more to do with loose and barking dogs, than actual livestock. In the morning, residents started to find out about the new ordinance that was passed by a mere 50 people in a town of 5,000. As the days would roll on, and appeals were filed, new information has come to light and once again, we see government force being used to entrench protectionist policies despite the desires of the local community.

As the current situation stands, the next town meeting, June 10, 2019, it looks as if the turbulence will finally be decided. Please feel free to call the town and let them know that this oridinance is not only contradictory to the Food Sovereignty declaration the town made, but is also anti-business, and is unconstitutional that a small handful of individuals can dictate how owners of land can use said land. The town manager, Tom Curtis, and the code enforcer, Susan Hathaway can be reached using the information provided.

Tom Curtis – 207-696-3971 – edd@madisonmaine.com
Susan Hathaway – 207-696-3971 – code@madisonmaine.com

Pictures of Lloyds Backyard Homestead

The Links

If you’re enjoying the show, please support it on Patreon and get access to bonus shows, seeds, and merchandise (and if you don’t like Patreon, you can sign up to support the show on BitBacker!) You can also do your Amazon shopping through our Amazon link. Please subscribe and leave a review on the Apple iTunes Store (or on any podcatcher, though iTunes is the most important). You can also like us on facebook and share the show from there. We are on Twitter as @HSandHSpod, and sometimes even on Instagram, too. And don’t forget to join the The Homesteaded Homeschool Forum to be a part of the conversation.And don’t forget to pay Nicky P. a visit either at Sounds Like Liberty, or on bandcamp, and pick up a subscription to the Freedom Song 365 project.

Link to show notes for episode 18 with Shane and Meredith Hazel.

Direct mp3 download.

Link to episode 9 on Libsyn.

This week the Liberty Hippie had the chance to talk with Julie Kirchner of Sadie-Girl Farm in Western North Carolina. Julie is enthralled with poultry and has made a thriving little side business selling some pretty fantastic chickens and quails. We talked about what varieties she focuses on – Black and Blue Copper Marans, Lavender Ameraucanas, Olive Eggers, Silkies, and Celedon Quail – and how she came to pick those varieties. We got into some of the details of her set up and how she is able to run so many flocks congruently while maintaining variety purity. These are all skills that Julie has learned later in life through non-conventional means, and it’s worth noting that the community is one of superb helpfulness. You can purchase chicks or hatching eggs from Sadie-Girl farm by accessing their website.

All The Links

After the interview, the Liberty Hippie gets into the recent spat of Tim Tebow Bills that have been pushed into Statehouses as well as a bill in Iowa that proposes to distribute public school funds to private and homeschooled children. He looks at some of the pros, but also the overwhelming cons.

All the Articles

And the Facebook Group!

The Homesteaded Homeschool Forum Facebook Group

If you really want to help the show grow, please subscribe and leave a review on the Apple iTunes Store (or on any podcatcher, though iTunes is the most important). You can also like us on facebook and share the show from there. We are on Twitter as @HSandHSpod, and sometimes even on Instagram, too.

If you feel so inclined to support the show financially you can click on the Amazon link in the side bar, or by checking out the Liberty Hippie’s bitbacker.io account, where you can show your support by donating Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash.

And don’t forget to pay Nicky P. a visit either at Sounds Like Liberty, or on bandcamp, and pick up a subscription to the Freedom Song 365 project.

And subscribe to the show!

Link to show notes for episode 008 with Steve Kemp.